India batting coach Vikram Rathour praised Virat Kohli after his vital knock in the first Test against South Africa. He said the senior hitter is at a stage in his career where he doesn’t need much practice.
India and South Africa began the two-match Test series in Centurion on December 26. Day 1 was dominated by the Proteas, who won the toss and elected to play first. They bowled sensationally well and took 8 wickets with just over 200 runs.
India were left reeling at 24/3 and it was Virat Kohli who got them out of trouble. Although the senior batsman did not score much, his innings at that time were very crucial in the context of the game as it brought the team back into the game after the first knocks.
Virat Kohli, who missed the practice match, did not look nervous at all despite the wickets falling at the other end. He batted sensibly and showed great discipline with outside-off balls. He seemed calm from the moment he arrived and made great shots.
Virat Kohli scored 38 runs off 64 balls with the help of five boundaries. His innings came under pressure and he made sure to take the team to more than 100 runs, which at one time did not seem possible.
Batting coach Vikram Rathour said that with the way Virat Kohli batted on Day 1, it didn’t look like he was away from Test cricket. He said the right-hander put in a lot of effort before the game. Speaking to reporters, he explained:
“Virat’s (Kohli) stage of his career is that I don’t think he needs much practice. He hits a lot and trains a lot. So if he practiced a few days less, it doesn’t matter much. We saw how well he was playing. It didn’t look like he was away from red-ball cricket for six months. It is a good signal”.
IND vs SA: Rahul is becoming a crisis man for us – Vikram Rathour
Vikram Rathour further gave credit to KL Rahul for the stupendous innings he played on day 1 innings. He said that whenever there are difficult situations, the wicketkeeper-batsman has gotten them out of trouble.
Vikram Rathour believes KL Rahul was in the right frame of mind and highlighted how well the batsman defended and attacked. He explained:
“Rahul is turning out to be a crisis man for us. Whenever there are difficult situations, he is the guy who handles them well for us. Nothing special, it was clear in his game plans, he defended the right balls, attacked the right ones.”
KL Rahul once again proved to be the man of the team in difficult situations. After India lost Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer (31) in quick succession, it looked like they would falter. But it was Rahul who stood tall and held the fort.
KL Rahul played positively and defended the balls well. He also attacked the bad balls and ensured that India got runs quickly, which took an hour. The wicketkeeper-batsman played some impressive shots and attacked the opposition.
KL Rahul slammed a magnificent half-century. He finished with an unbeaten 70 runs at stumps on Day 1. India finished with 208/8 and the batsman was hoping to score triple figures on Day 2 and take the team to a big total.